Our pastor just read a passage
of scripture as he was reading. It was in the 15th verse of that
passage he just read. It says, Sanctify the Lord, set
Him apart in your hearts, and be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you. a reason
of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, that is, with
submission to God's will and respect. Be ready. Any man who asks you gives you
an opportunity to ask you. Be ready. The reason of the hope I'd like to preach on that this
morning. Turn with me to Romans 15, verse
13. I've entitled this, Who is Your
Hope? Romans 15, verse 13, says this,
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing
that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost." Now, every person born in Adam, you know, that possesses a mental
capacity to think somewhat in a rational manner, has a hope. Every person, I'm talking about
every person that's born, comes into this world, has got a hope. Now, hope, the word hope, be
ready, that's what Scott was reading about, be ready to give
evidence of the hope that's within you. Hope, the word hope means
a confident or favorable expectation. That's what the word means. It
means an expectation. Hope has to do with the future. Now, faith is something that
is now. Faith is now. Now, I'm going
to tell you this, there's a true faith that's given from above
and there's a false faith. I mean, you know, what it is
is the belief, the belief in. So there's a false faith and
a true faith. There's a false hope and a true
hope. So everybody has got a hope. It is within every man's conscience. There's something. There's something
that he believes. There's something that he thinks
about life after life. I mean, just all you got to do
is just look at, you know, how many times have I brought up
this, that illustration of the Mayan Indians back, you know,
when we'd go to Mexico and I'd say, you know, let me tell you
something. Their God was angry. That's what they believe. There
is within every person, there's a conscience. Maybe an evil conscience. It's going to take God Almighty
to give a man a good conscience. But there is within every person,
they know something. Therefore, their hope, and hope
is unseen, hope is in the future, hope is The faith we possess
now, hope, is what we're looking for. And every man's hope is based
upon what he's taught, what he knows, what he believes, what
he feels is right. Now, the problem with man as
he is born in Adam is that he's incapable of knowing the truth
concerning God. He's incapable of knowing the
truth concerning himself. I mean, man, how do I know? How would I know that from the
crown of my head, the sole of my foot, that it was just in
sight of God, putrefying source? How would I know that? By nature,
I wouldn't believe that. I honestly would think that I'm
not too bad. But man, he's incapable of knowing
anything concerning God's truth because he's dead in trespasses
and sin. As I said a moment ago, incapable
of seeking God, he's incapable of faithfulness, he's incapable
of consistency, but still an unbeliever has a hope. He's got a hope. Now, for the unbeliever, in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember, hope is concerning
the future. Faith is now. What we possess
in this life is a faith. And unless God gives faith from
above, because all men have not faith from above, but unless
God gives a man faith to believe Him, then he doesn't possess
it. And therefore, if he doesn't
possess true faith, then he doesn't have hope in Christ. Because faith, faith is the grace
by which a human being has a good hope. Now let me show you something
about an unbeliever and their false hope. Turn to Job 27. Job
27. Now I'm going to show you that
men, they have a hope. There's something that they believe
about the future and what they believe about the future. That's
what I'm talking about when I say hope. So don't intermingle the
two words faith and hope as being the same thing. They're not.
Hope is what you think is going to Come to pass, Job 27, verse
6, for what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained,
when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble
cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the
Almighty? Will he always call upon God?
I will teach you by the hand of God that which is with the
Almighty will I not conceal. Behold, all ye yourselves have
seen it. Why then are ye thus altogether
vain? This is the portion of a wicked
man with God in the heritage of oppressors which they shall
perceive of the Almighty." Now here's what did Job say. He said
that even the wicked has some kind of a future thought of gain,
and it's based upon what he can figure out. It's anything but
what God has said it is. It's anything else. It's vain
imaginations. And what's going to happen, Job
said, whenever that man stands before God. What is actually
going to happen when God Almighty reveals to that man what his
hope was? Job said in 8, let me read this
to you, Job 8, 11 to 14, can the rush, that is the reed, grow
up without mire, without swamp, marsh? Can the flag, swamp grass
grow without water. Whilst it is yet in its greenness
and not cut down, it withereth. It becomes dry before any other
herb. So are the paths or the ways
of all that forget God and the hypocrites, the godless. So are
the hypocrites' hope, their expectancy. It's going to perish whose hope..."
Now, there's two words, hope, in that passage of Scripture.
One word means expectancy. Their hope shall perish. Whose hope, this second word
in Job 8, actually is stupidity. Their stupidity shall be cut
off. Whose trust, whose refuge shall be a spider's web. Job
said every hope that an unbeliever, an unregenerate has. This is
why it is so vitally important to come to this point. What does
God say true salvation is? I mean, you missed this. You
missed this right here. And I'm telling you, everything
else just... You build a hope on a false foundation. And I'm telling you, you've got
a false hope. Because if it's not built on what God Almighty
says concerning the salvation of His people, then everything
else just flutters away. So Job has said here that the
unregenerate false hope is something that he's created in his mind.
It's a false security that's not going to stand. And it is,
by definition of the Scriptures, a confidence in folly or stupidity. It's just basing it on sheer
nonsense. But for a regenerate, for those
that God has taught something of true salvation, of God's mercy,
God's sovereign grace, for the regenerate, the object Of God's
mercy, that's who I'm talking about. Hope is not a created
event. What do I mean by that? I mean
like when the Lord came to Martha when Lazarus had died and the
Lord told Martha, He said, your brother's going to live. And
she said, well, I know he'll live again in the resurrection.
See, she was relating that as an event. And the Lord said,
Martha, I am the resurrection. The resurrection is not an event. I mean, I understand how we think
like that. Resurrection is a person. So
therefore, for a believer, hope is not an event. It is the Lord
Jesus Christ. Christ is our hope. He is our future expectation. He is our salvation. John 14,
6, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.
No man cometh to the Father but by me. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians
1, 2, and 3, we give thanks to God always for you, making mention
of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of
faith that was given to you. Faith is a work. It's a good work. Why is it a
good work? Because it's a work of God. the
fruit of the Spirit, faith. We remember your work of faith,
your labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the sight of God and our Father. Your consistency of expectation. Paul said, I see that. I see you expect that your future
state which is secure is Him. He is your hope. Titus 2, 13,
14, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself
for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. So the
scripture declares that the believer's hope or their expectation of
actually being accepted and associated in mercy and grace with Almighty
God is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our hope. We are confident. Job said in
19, verse 25-27, I know that my Redeemer lives. And he shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth, and though after my skin worms destroy the
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, that means not a
stranger, though my reins be consumed within me. That is,
though it appears from a human point of view that I'm going
to nothing, that I'm getting older, that I'm deteriorating,
though it appears, though it looks like that I'm going down. I know that my Redeemer lives. I'm going to see Him. I'm going
to see Him. So here's what we know. Christ
is our hope. Christ is our, I mean, we possess
Him now by faith, but then, Brother Scott, by sight. No more by faith. But here's a question. How is
that hope? And I know that He is the hope
of His people. I know that. But how is it that
He, the Lord Jesus, who is the hope of the sheep, of the saints,
of the church, the regenerated people of God, how is it that
He can be my hope. Now, I know He's somebody's hope.
How is it that I can know that I have an association with that? Well, Paul says back in Romans
15, 13, now, the God of hope. Well, there's a key right there.
Hope in Christ is not something Or that is, my ability to be
able to, by faith, have a hope in my future state of being after
this world is over. My ability to be able to believe
that He is my hope didn't originate with me. That's what he said,
didn't originate with me. We were chosen to possess Him
as our hope. We were chosen to that. According
as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. How is it that Christ,
who is the hope of His people, could be my hope? Well, number
one, you're going to have to start with God. It wasn't me
that chose God. It was God that chose me. The
Lord Jesus Christ told some people, He said, you didn't choose me.
I chose you. Dug out of that same pit, lump,
clay that every other man was dug out of in the potter who
has the right to make one vessel unto honor. And another vessel
under dishonor. Why? It wasn't that he took some
good clay and made some good vessels and he just kind of looked
over here at the bad clay and just no. Let me tell you, it
was all the same clay. It was the same thing. Tubes of paint, Renee, or tubes
of paint. What's the difference in what
goes on the canvas? Whoever picks up the brush. That's the same. Paint's paint. The difference is the potter.
The difference is the master. The difference is God Almighty.
That's the difference. Who maketh thee to differ? I'll
tell you who made you to differ. God made you to differ. The Lord? of heaven, did what he did so
that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels
of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory." He did it according
to his own will. The God of hope, God must reveal
Christ to me and in me that I might know. anything about
a true hope. We were chosen to it and redeemed
by the One who is our hope. He bought us. God chose us to
it and Christ bought us, paid for us. Out of every nation,
kindred, tribe, and tongue, He redeemed His people, bought them
back. So, God's people, the church,
In time, in regeneration, they're going to actually possess hope. Their hope, their future expectation
and peace with God Almighty is given them by the Lord God Himself. He is the source of our hope. He chose us, bought us. All right. I know that the hope,
true hope, is Christ Himself. I know that the source of that
hope is God because it is God that makes the difference. But what is the evidence? If
He has given me, if God has chosen to give me a knowledge of Christ,
What's the evidence? How can I know? How can I know
that He's my hope? Paul says, now the God of hope,
here it is, filled you with all joy and peace in believing. Here's the evidence. I truly desire to be kept. from the deception of sin and
Satan in myself. I do. See, I know just enough,
as silly and as filled with folly as I am, I know just enough to
know that I don't want to be deceived. I don't want to. Just ask yourself this. Do you
desire to be deceived? Obviously, man by nature does. But he doesn't even know it.
If he knew he was deceived, he wouldn't be really deceived. I don't want to be blinded by
the God of this world. And I truly believe that the
desire to not be blinded, Brady, is evidence of life. I don't
want to be blinded. I don't want to have my conscience
seared against God. But here's a promise from Almighty
God that God has shown mercy. They're going to be filled. They're
going to be full and complete with joy and peace. That is,
they're going to be glad. Joy. Glad. They possess a true spiritual
happiness, not in what they've done, but in what God has done
for them. That's what they're glad of.
How do you know one that truly possesses joy from above, I realize that I could have never
done anything to please God. For that, I'm thankful. I'm glad. I'm glad that God revealed to
me that it was not because I – whatever. Whatever. Name anything you want
to name. And secondly, they possess peace,
this quietness. They know that reconciliation
has been made for them by the blood of Christ. I know that
it's not something that I did, and I know it's something He
did. They rest from attempting to
make peace with God by their efforts. They have joy, filled with joy
and peace in believing. They trust God. The Philippian
jailer asked Paul, sir, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? As I've said this, I'll say it
again just for the sake of someone that may not have heard it. Someone
says, you see there? Now, Marvin, that just proves
everything that you've said wrong. You're wrong. Well, unless you
understand what he asked him, because the answer that Paul
gave If salvation is by my works of righteousness, then something's
wrong here. If it's not by works of righteousness,
I'm sorry. Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Here's the literal of what he asked him. What is the evidence? What is the action that will
be manifested in me that I have been saved? What is the manifestation? What action? Will there be wrought
that God has saved me?" And Paul said, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved. Not that his belief was the source
of his salvation. His belief was the evidence of
it. What is the action that will come out of me? Paul said, You'll
believe Christ. You'll believe the gospel. Abraham
believed God. And it was counted to him. It
was shown that Christ's righteousness was imputed to him. We believe
by the God-given grace of faith that God Almighty has given us
a heart to believe. Hebrews 11, verse 1 says, now
faith. What is faith? Faith is the substance. It is the ground. It is the confidence
of things hoped for, expected. It's the evidence, it's the proof
of things, that is, the deeds that are accomplished. The things,
that's what that means, the deeds accomplished. It's the evidence
of things not seen. True joy and peace is found when
we believe Him. Let this world say what they
will concerning hope What does God say about hope? Christ is
our hope. We're given hope by God. The
evidence that we possess this hope is because we believe Him,
not because of anything personal. Listen, if you believe that something
you've done is the source or the reason for your salvation,
that is your hope. That's your hope. If you think
that your free will, you exercised your free will, then your free
will is your hope. You stand before God Almighty
and you say, the reason I have the right to be here is because
I exercised my free will. That
dead free will that from the crown of your head, sole of your
foot, That's the reason. Whatever you think you've done
in order to be saved, that's what you're looking to. And let
me tell you something, it better be something a whole lot more
substantial than what you came up with. Because I'm telling
you, go back and read Job concerning a false hope. Lastly, concerning our hope. our hope Christ that God gives
in evidence by believing. And here is the last part. Our
hearts, those that believe, are excited as we are taught by the
Spirit of God of greater understanding and manifestation of His mercy
to us for Christ's sake. What happens to a man or woman
that believes God. How do they progress? Paul referred
to this growing in grace. As I said before, you cannot
grow. God's grace is God's grace. But
I can tell you what I can do. I can know more of it. I can
grow in understanding of it, perception of it. His grace,
His mercy, my hope doesn't grow. God's grace is settled. All of God's grace that I'm ever
going to get is, I got. But I understand it. And how
do you understand it? By hearing the Gospel. You grow
in understanding. That's what Paul says, that ye
may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. I want to know more. Turn to
Ephesians 13 as I finish up. Ephesians 13, I'm sorry, Ephesians
3, I said 13, 3. Ephesians 3. Ephesians 3, 14,
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to
be strengthened with might by his Spirit. in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with
all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth
and the height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth
knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Paul is saying back in Romans, He's our hope. It's God that
made Him, caused Him to be your hope. God chose you and Christ
redeemed you. It's God. How is it that I will
know something upon Him? How is it that I'll be able to
enter in to that? And Paul, under the inspiration
of the Spirit of God, said this, you'll be filled with all joy
and peace in believing Him. You'll believe Him. And he said,
oh, that you may abound in that hope. Be enriched. Learn more. Isn't it wonderful
to be able to just stop and think? Here's what he did. He chose
to save us in time. He did it. He put us in a place
where we could come together. And in this sanctuary of comfort,
in this assembly, he put an assembly together. He puts assemblies
in different places, sends a pastor, and he takes a pastor who's just
a lump of clay. And God's been pleased to teach
something that knows in himself he's nothing but for the grace
of God. And He gives a pastor a heart,
a desire to want to look into the Scriptures and ask and seek. And then sit down. Here's a group
of people and they want to hear what God's got to say. They want
to hear what He has to say. And they sit there just for a
few minutes. They just feast on that. And
because of the frailty of our flesh, Just like eating breakfast,
you know, I might have to eat lunch in a little while because
I'm going to get hungry again. But just for a few minutes, I
can sit and I can hear Him and I can rejoice in that. And for
those few minutes, I'm thankful. And if God tarries, He's given
us, we've been here, well, Scott's been here a long time, faithful. I've been here just a little
while. But I'm thankful that we're here at all. That we can
just be here for a few minutes and thank Him. It's been a good
year. Kind of drawing to an end. Lord tarries. We're going to
have one more service on Wednesday night before the new year comes. But if this is the last that
we ever had, we've had a good year. God's given us some sustenance
and we feasted on it. Our bodies have gone down, but
our spirits are enriched and we abound in Him. May the Lord
be pleased to bless this message to our hearts. Okay, let's stand
together.